thisisacornhyperbole's review
4.0
Seeing as my favorite genres are sci-fi and fantasy, I often end up reading terrible novels about mystical creatures. And it seems more often than not that the really bad ones are about mermaids. The idea of fantastic beings with magical powers has such a wide berth to it that usually a horrible teen romance is thrown into the mix with the hero falling for some underwhelming creature. *cough cough* TwilightVampireDiariesNeedTheHost *cough cough*.
So when I grabbed this book at the local library I was expecting utter crap, but I really wanted a light summer read, and obviously a book with mermaids is going to have a beach! What's more summery than a beach, right? Anyways, I was pleasantly surprised that this book didn't make me want to drown myself in the toilet! Right away, the point of view is from a seventeen year old male, so I was somewhat relieved that the focus might not be on some gross puppy love. Then, within the first few pages of the novel a tragedy within the family is thrown into the mix– but its not begging sympathy for the character, which is rare in YA.
I tried not to give this book to harsh of a judgement until I read three chapters (that's usually my rule) because I know books need some background and plot development. But man! It really didn't need that. In the first chapter some random chick gets hit by a truck and then crawls away like a maniac into the ocean. (I very intensely paraphrased that. Honestly, it's written very interestingly in the novel.) From then on into the book, Lisa Papademetriou has that excellent writing style so commonly found in mystery novels of giving little teasers of information that really makes you want to keep on reading. Not that that is rare, but in these type of novels it is hard to come by! By and large for having this type of story acclimated to crashing and burning, Papademetriou somehow manages to put a new spin on this mermaid tale. (See what i did with the tale? Like a tail? Tee hee)
My reasoning for rating this 4/5 stars is not really for the enthusiasm of the read, but more the appreciation that this book didn't suck as much as I thought it was going to, and I'm actually going to read the sequel!
So when I grabbed this book at the local library I was expecting utter crap, but I really wanted a light summer read, and obviously a book with mermaids is going to have a beach! What's more summery than a beach, right? Anyways, I was pleasantly surprised that this book didn't make me want to drown myself in the toilet! Right away, the point of view is from a seventeen year old male, so I was somewhat relieved that the focus might not be on some gross puppy love. Then, within the first few pages of the novel a tragedy within the family is thrown into the mix– but its not begging sympathy for the character, which is rare in YA.
I tried not to give this book to harsh of a judgement until I read three chapters (that's usually my rule) because I know books need some background and plot development. But man! It really didn't need that. In the first chapter some random chick gets hit by a truck and then crawls away like a maniac into the ocean. (I very intensely paraphrased that. Honestly, it's written very interestingly in the novel.) From then on into the book, Lisa Papademetriou has that excellent writing style so commonly found in mystery novels of giving little teasers of information that really makes you want to keep on reading. Not that that is rare, but in these type of novels it is hard to come by! By and large for having this type of story acclimated to crashing and burning, Papademetriou somehow manages to put a new spin on this mermaid tale. (See what i did with the tale? Like a tail? Tee hee)
My reasoning for rating this 4/5 stars is not really for the enthusiasm of the read, but more the appreciation that this book didn't suck as much as I thought it was going to, and I'm actually going to read the sequel!
snowbenton's review
1.0
Will's brother died a year ago, and now that it's summer Will is back to spending his days helping his parents at their organic food stand where the "summer people" (people Will hates, on almost every other page, simply for having money and for being "clean," a word used as an insult so often I thought that this was set in the dark ages) buy said food and baked goods and spending his nights mooning over Gretchen, the "summer person" who he is allowed to like because she doesn't act stuck up, and Asia, the Edward-Cullen style outsider and obvious mythical creature. What follows is a mismatched tale that switches from moody summer romance cliche to old-school horror back to clueless teenager-land and doesn't do any of them well. All of the dialogue seems stilted, and when Will makes fun of the ageless Asia for speaking in an old-fashioned way I genuinely didn't notice because they all speak like old people and despite the single mention of Facebook, no one uses their phones as often as actual people in 2011. There are too many storylines branching all over, none of which go anywhere, and it took way too long to get to the big reveal of what the creatures are and ended in a very disappointing showdown.
philyra91's review
3.0
I'm quite torn about my feelings towards Siren's Storm. On one hand, it has tremendous potential, the writing is solid, and the world has been beautiful crafted. On the other hand, it could have been much better, I felt.
Let's start with what I liked about the book. While the beginning was too slow for my liking, the author did craft an extremely meticulous world. You do get the sense that you're in the small summer town of Walfgang and you do feel connected to the town. The characters were well-written as well and I did feel for the characters, such as Gretchen and Will. The writing is solid, with beautiful and vivid descriptions and the mythology Papademetriou has created sounds really, really interesting.
However, because the beginning was so slowly-paced, it felt very uneven. We get dragged on through chapter after chapter, and about a couple of chapters before the end, we get the low-down on the mythology and BAM, the climatic ending and we're done. The ending felt weird, and I felt rushed. For what I had to read through, the ending did make me feel like I was short-changed. Pacing was definitely a weakness for Siren's Storm.
Also, I didn't get why the pacing was so slow. It didn't seem like the plot was solid enough. From the title, you know that the book is going to be about sirens. From the summary, you can already tell that Asia is the new girl, and that she's "beautiful and has a mesmerizing voice". I don't think it takes a genius to put two and two together: Asia is a siren, or at least a form of it. But instead of diving into plot, we seem to be going around and around in circles for the majority of the novel.
There were quite a few loose ends left untied at the end of Siren's Storm. There seems to be a sequel so maybe that's why we have all those loose ends, but overall, I really would have loved to know more about Will's brother's death, the reasons behind Gretchen's troubles, etc. Not a bad novel, but the ending is a little murky and doesn't seem worth the time you put in the beginning. Still, the sequel might be worth it. :)
Let's start with what I liked about the book. While the beginning was too slow for my liking, the author did craft an extremely meticulous world. You do get the sense that you're in the small summer town of Walfgang and you do feel connected to the town. The characters were well-written as well and I did feel for the characters, such as Gretchen and Will. The writing is solid, with beautiful and vivid descriptions and the mythology Papademetriou has created sounds really, really interesting.
However, because the beginning was so slowly-paced, it felt very uneven. We get dragged on through chapter after chapter, and about a couple of chapters before the end, we get the low-down on the mythology and BAM, the climatic ending and we're done. The ending felt weird, and I felt rushed. For what I had to read through, the ending did make me feel like I was short-changed. Pacing was definitely a weakness for Siren's Storm.
Also, I didn't get why the pacing was so slow. It didn't seem like the plot was solid enough. From the title, you know that the book is going to be about sirens. From the summary, you can already tell that Asia is the new girl, and that she's "beautiful and has a mesmerizing voice". I don't think it takes a genius to put two and two together: Asia is a siren, or at least a form of it. But instead of diving into plot, we seem to be going around and around in circles for the majority of the novel.
There were quite a few loose ends left untied at the end of Siren's Storm. There seems to be a sequel so maybe that's why we have all those loose ends, but overall, I really would have loved to know more about Will's brother's death, the reasons behind Gretchen's troubles, etc. Not a bad novel, but the ending is a little murky and doesn't seem worth the time you put in the beginning. Still, the sequel might be worth it. :)
ahoipanem's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Ganz okay schätze ich?
Es war insgesamt sehr mittelmäßig:
- die Charaktere waren nichts besonderes, aber trotzdem sympathisch
- Spannung ist erst gegen Mitte/Ende aufgekommen und richtig fesseln konnte mich die Handlung erst ganz zum Schluss
Fazit: kann man Lesen, aber man verpasst auch nichts wenn nicht 😅
Es war insgesamt sehr mittelmäßig:
- die Charaktere waren nichts besonderes, aber trotzdem sympathisch
- Spannung ist erst gegen Mitte/Ende aufgekommen und richtig fesseln konnte mich die Handlung erst ganz zum Schluss
Fazit: kann man Lesen, aber man verpasst auch nichts wenn nicht 😅
xxsquigglesxx's review
3.0
OVERALL IMPRESSION: One thing I don't understand about this book is the title. In this book, sirens are referred to as "seekrieger's", so I'm not sure why the author decided to use siren in the title. Maybe it was just to help people understand the subject matter of the book. The ending of the book was wonderful. I finally got the fast paced action that I had been waiting for. All of the pieces finally came together and I got a sense of what was really happening in the town. I'm excited for the next novel to come out to see where the story will go.
CHARACTERS: My favorite character in this book is Gretchen. She seems to be the one that I relate to the most. She's pretty much just your all around normal girl, and she handles herself really well.
COVER: Love it! I love the hair in the girl's face and the expression she has. I also love how the whole thing is tinted in green, it helps tie in the mermaid theme.
CHARACTERS: My favorite character in this book is Gretchen. She seems to be the one that I relate to the most. She's pretty much just your all around normal girl, and she handles herself really well.
COVER: Love it! I love the hair in the girl's face and the expression she has. I also love how the whole thing is tinted in green, it helps tie in the mermaid theme.
wheems01's review against another edition
4.0
A year ago Will went sailing with his brother, but only he made it back. Now a year later, Will still has no memory of the events of that night, only the scars remain. His best friend Gretchen seems troubled too, her sleepwalking is getting worse, and she seems to be keeping something from him. When a new girl arrives in town, Asia, who is something of a mystery, Will begins to suspect that there is more to her than meets the eye.
Siren’s Storm was a difficult novel for me to get into at first. The beginning is a tad bit slow, but the pace quickens somewhat as the novel progresses. The mystery is intriguing and this book isn’t your common place supernatural story—there is definitely some mythology, and thought put into creating a believable novel.
The setting is exquisitely detailed. You feel like you know this little beach side town and that you have lived there. While some of the characters are a bit stereotypical, you run into those that really shine, and are people you want to know. Will and Gretchen were both believable and well developed characters.
As I stated earlier in the review, the beginning was a tad bit slow and the pacing increases as the novel nears the end. The problem is that the ending feels a tad rushed, and perhaps not as well developed or explained as the rest of the novel. I ended with questions at the end, that still needed answers. This perhaps opens the door for a sequel, but leaves the reader feeling a little frustrated.
Overall this is an exciting mystery and an incredibly original novel. I especially loved the sea captain’s journal and the history combined with the mythology. I hope there is a sequel because I really want to see explanations for some of the events in the ending. A nice summer read, with a tad bit of darkness on the side. Enjoyable.
Cautions for sensitive readers: Language, sexual references, and alcohol.
hdbblog's review against another edition
3.0
It was good, not my favorite, but good! I'll have a review soon.
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